December 9, 2010
Thanksgiving dinner turned out much better than I anticipated. Luckily the turkey just fit in my oven (which is more like a toaster-oven). I had bought a 7 kilo bird, about 15 pounds and after using wooden spoons to form a rack in my roasting pan, I was just able to squeeze the bird in. Just to be on the safe side, I put it in at 10 AM, not knowing exactly how long it would take. My oven is very old and cooks very slow. I didn’t realize it until I was ready to cook it, but the turkey had a pop-up timer in it. However, since I had to squeeze the wings down, one of them prevented the timer from popping up. It only took 6 ½ hours to cook and it was delicious. Once the turkey was done I was able to put the stuffing in, which I had made from scratch, since I couldn’t find Pepperidge Farm. We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, cauliflower, and carrots. The gravy also came out good, with no lumps. This was the first time in a long time that I made gravy from scratch.
There were 7 of us celebrating Thanksgiving together. Robin had brought bread, Bryan and Chris brought cheese and crackers, Sam brought wine, Paul brought fruit, and Shannon had made the carrot soufflé. We had a wonderful time talking about how we each celebrate the day at home and sharing funny stories. It was a good day, but I’m sure next year will be even better when I’m home.
That Saturday was another joyous day for the Fullam family. Brendan proposed to Jackie and she said yes. We are all very happy and excited for them. Now I have 3 weddings, my niece Heather is also engaged, and a new baby to go home to. It almost sounds like a movie, “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” There is much joy and excitement in our family.
We had our All-Volunteer Conference the next week. The new volunteers had to be there Saturday night and we had to be there Monday night. I went up Saturday in order to visit with my host family in Karashamb, my training village. I enjoy seeing them and spending time with them and this gave me a good opportunity to do so. I had to be in Yerevan on Monday in order to help with the cooking for Monday night and to do a workshop for the new volunteers.
Monday night we celebrated Thanksgiving with all 96 PCVs in country and about 20 Staff members and their families. We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rice, green beans, carrot soufflé, and we even had yams. And of course there were pies: apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue. Afterwards there was the annual talent show, which is a lot of fun. A good time was had by all.
The Conference was good, better than last year’s. On the second day, we split up into sectors and met with specialists in that field. For the TEFL sector, we met with some people from the National Institute of Ed., one of the author’s of the text books, a man from British Council and someone from an agency that accredits colleges and universities. We had a very good discussion with the NIE people, although they didn’t agree with all our ideas. And the author actually agreed to setting up a standing committee to work with her on revising the textbooks. We’re hoping to do the same with the other authors.
Since we were all together for World AIDS Day, a few of the PCVs had arranged for us to get t-shirts with an AIDS message on them and to participate in a flash mob event to mark the day. I had never heard of this before, but I was eager to do it. We walked from our hotel to the center of the city where we met up with some other groups. There is a pedestrian mall nearby and so we walked over to that and spread out up and down it. At a specified time someone blew a whistle, at which we all took off our coats, so everyone could see our t-shirts and then we struck poses for a minute. It was interesting to watch the faces on those walking by as they threaded their way through us and tried to figure out what was going on. Eventually they got it and stopped to read the signs that some were holding up. It was a very moving experience.
Friday night was probably the highlight of the week for me. A group of us had gotten tickets for a concert by Placido Domingo. The tickets were a bit expensive, but they were worth every dram we paid. The concert was in a huge sports and concert arena, that was packed. It started at 8:30 and didn’t end until after 11:00. He sang about every other song, with three other singers rotating in and out, and sometimes he sang a duet with one of them. The acoustics in the place were great. After three encore songs, a group of disabled singers came out onto the stage and they sang with him. It was very moving. They closed the concert with everyone singing the Armenian national anthem. I never thought that I would get a chance to hear Placido Domingo in person, especially in Armenia. One never knows what will happen in the Peace Corps.
We have been very lucky so far with the weather, it has been unseasonably warm. Most of November it was in the 60’s during the day and didn’t get much below 45 at night. Even now the days are fairly warm, about mid 50s, but the nights do get a bit colder, probably in the 30s. They keep saying that it will turn colder soon and we’ll have snow, but I’m enjoying this weather as long as it lasts and it’s helping to preserve my wood supply. I do have to light my wood stove at night, but I also cook on it and it helps to dry my laundry over night.
I can’t believe that we only have two more weeks of school before Christmas. I’ll be going up north to another volunteer’s house for Christmas and then I’m off to Egypt for a week or so. I hope everyone has a very blessed Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

November 21, 2010
I started this month with having a problem with mice, not exactly my favorite animal. I wasn’t sure at first if I had mice, but I soon found their droppings on a regular basis in my kitchen. So I went to the store in my village and bought a mouse trap. Unfortunately the first night I didn’t set it properly and wound up feeding the mice instead of catching them. The next day the electrician was at my house checking on an outlet and he showed me how to set it. For the next few nights I was in business. But that also meant that I had to get the mice out of the trap in order to reuse them. Not wanting to do this, I would catch some of the older boys on their way to school in the mornings and have them get rid of the mice. I’m very thankful that everyone has to pass my house on their way to school. I can happily say that I’ve been mouse free for the past 2 weeks.
One of the other TEFL volunteers decided to have a day of teacher workshops in his city for all the English teachers in the surrounding area. About 6 of us volunteered to help him, and so the second weekend in Nov. I travelled up to Berd. This is a city in the northeast part of the country, that is a bit difficult to get to. After getting up to Yerevan, which is a 6 hour ride, I then had another 3 ½ hour taxi ride. However, it was well worth it and gave me an opportunity to see another part of this country and spend some time with other PCVs I don’t ordinarily see. Since I was supposed to get back to my village on Sunday, I left Berd Saturday afternoon and went with Pat to her site, which is just outside of Yerevan. Pat has this unbelievable apartment, which is not at all Peace Corps-like. When I called to make a reservation on the marchutney, I found out that I would have to wait until Monday morning. So I stayed an extra day which gave me a chance to see Artashat, Pat’s site, and spend time with Pat. Monday morning we walked out to the highway to flag down the marchutney. I found out that getting on enroute is not the best, since I didn’t exactly have a seat, but at least I got back to my site.
Not having a seat turned out not to be the worst part of my day. Upon getting back to my house, I couldn’t unlock the door. The key would only turn part of the way and then it got stuck in the lock. I called the local handy man, but he didn’t answer. I finally unlocked the door, but then it wouldn’t close. Sosa, the handy-man called me back and came over a bit later. He was able to fix the door, thank goodness.
We’ve been having an unseasonably warm November and dry as well. The foliage has been very muted at best and now all the trees are bare. During the height of the colors, I could look across the valley and the trees had a golden hue to them that gave them a softness. I’m hoping that the warm November means a warmer winter this year, although last winter wasn’t terribly cold. I have started using my wood stove at night just to get the chill out of the house. However, it is still comfortable in the mornings, so I don’t even have to use my heater.
This past Friday the school had a harvest celebration. All the students brought in some vegetables or fruits from their gardens. Each class was given a table to decorate and set up their display on, with some of the classes combining. It was amazing to see the creativity of some of the students, making faces on pumpkins and squash with other vegetables. A lot of the parents were also there, helping the younger students. Two of the older groups even had wine as part of their displays. I was part of the judging panel, along with the Russian teacher and science teacher. There were 8 categories and a different group won in each category, very democratic. After the judging everyone was invited to taste anything they wanted to. Of course as I went from table to table I kept getting food handed to me and went home with two big bags full of fresh produce.
We’ve been given Thanksgiving Day off this year and so I decided to host dinner for the volunteers in my area. I invited about 13 other PCVs, 7 of which will be coming. I even found a turkey for the meal, which was very lucky since they don’t have turkey here often. We will also celebrate Thanksgiving the following Monday when all of the PCVs in country will be together and we’ll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for this year, as always. I have a wonderful, supportive family who I look forward to spending next Thanksgiving with. I will be going home to the wedding of Kerin and Chuck. And, Kate and Andrew are expecting their first child.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

October 29, 2010
These past three weeks certainly seemed to have flown by, which I guess means that I’ve been happy and busy. School has settled into a nice routine, although at least once a week our schedule is changed, but I’ve come to expect that.
Two weeks ago I broke my glasses and the other pair has a scratch on one lens. In order to get new glasses I had to go up to Yerevan on a Thursday so they would be ready by Friday, since they don’t work on Saturdays. I have progressive lenses, which I really like and have gotten used to, but here in Armenia they are a problem. It seems that in the past few years, other PCVs have tried to get new progressive lenses, but none were happy with the outcome. Since the upper part of my lenses are for driving, which I’m not doing now, I agreed that I could do with just the lower part of the prescription, with the upper part just glass. It didn’t quite work out that way, they filled the whole lens with the reading prescription. So now I have 3 pair of glasses, each with their own special quirk, but I’m making it work since it’s for less than a year.
That weekend in Yerevan turned out to be unexpected good. I wasn’t sure what other PCVs would be in town, if any, so I was prepared to just see some of the cultural things. However, on Friday I was invited by my Program Manager to go with her on some site visits to the new PCVs. It was very interesting to see how some of the other TEFLs are doing, what their schools are like and their counterparts and how they work together, or not. Chad is an one of the largest villages in Armenia and some of his classes have almost as many students as my whole school. A very different situation, but also similar in a lot of respects. We observed two of his classes and then went to see the house he will be moving into. The next stop was at a university, where we again observed a PCV, Beckey and met with her counterpart as well as the president of the university, who also happens to be a Bishop. Beckey will also be working with the NIE (National Institute of Education) and doing teacher training so we visited there and then went to see the apartment she will be moving into. As I said, it was a very interesting day and one which again made me very thankful for both my counterpart and village.
As it turned out there were two other older PCVs in Yerevan that weekend also, so we spent Friday night and Saturday together. Friday night we had dinner at the interim Country Director’s house, along with two Fulbright Scholars. Diana, the CD, will be here only until the middle of December. She’s been in the Ukraine as a PCV and CD, as well as in Morocco and other countries. We had an interesting conversation with her and her husband, as well as a wonderful home-cooked meal.
The two Fulbright Scholars are both very interesting and knowledgeable women. Jane is an architect who is here for a year and teaching at one of the universities in Yerevan and doing some research in Gyumri. She has spent a lot of time in Yerevan, first with her husband when he was a visiting professor and then on several visits. She gave a talk Saturday, which we attended, on Community Planning and Design. It was very interesting to hear how cities and towns are responding to the community’s needs and cultural, and how that changes or influences their planning.
Ana, the other Fulbright Scholar, is a linguist and is teaching at one of the universities and will only be here until December. She is originally from Venezuela and was recently named one of the top 50 influential Hispanic-American women in America. Both of these women are very down to earth and a real joy to be with. Needless to say our conversations during the meals we shared were very stimulating. We hope to get together again before Ana leaves.
That Saturday was a big day in Yerevan. Grand Candy, an Armenian candy company, was celebrating being put in the Guinness Book of World Records for having made the world’s biggest candy bar. In the center of the city, Republic Square, they had a big stage set up, a ton of Grand Candy mini-vans, and a lot of security. At 6:30 the festivities began, with music and a video showing the candy bar in one piece and how it was cut. Then the side doors on the mini-vans opened and they gave out the candy. Of course it was a mad house with a ton of people. Try as we might, we couldn’t get close enough to get any candy. At about 10 PM they had fireworks, which could be seen all over the city.
Last weekend I was again in Yerevan and once again had an unexpectedly enjoyable time. I had gone up on Friday for a meeting and was leaving Sunday for Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Again there were a host of other PCVs in town, since it was the beginning of a week vacation for the schools. Saturday a few of us decided to just leisurely stroll around the city and do something culturally. We first went to the vernisage, which is like a big flea market. There were all sorts of beautiful paintings, some old jewelry and kitchen items, clothing, and other usual items found at flea markets. Then, we decided to go the National History Museum. We spent about an hour on just the first floor, after which we left since it was getting late. But it was just so nice to see and do something different.
Lisa, another PCV, and I spent 3 days exploring Tbilisi, especially the old part of it. We stayed at a small hotel, which was charming and served a wonderful breakfast. Finding this hotel, the Georgian House, was an adventure in itself. We decided to walk from the center of the city, got a map and thought we knew where it was. However, after walking for about 45 minutes with our backpacks, we finally got a taxi. It seems that he didn’t know where the hotel was, so we drove across town to a Mariott, where he asked for directions, and then headed back to where we had been. It seems that we were almost right around the corner from the hotel when we got in the cab. But, we did get a scenic tour of the city out of it. From where the hotel was located, we were able to walk into town, so it was very convenient. When we got there Sunday we met up with Kyle, another PCV, and his parents, which was fun. They left Monday morning for Turkey. We met up with them again for dinner that night. There is a part of the old town that has meandering streets with lots of outdoor restaurants and cafes.
On Monday we walked up to an old fortress that overlooks the old town, and looks fascinating from street-level. It was a nice walk, although all uphill, with fantastic views of the city. It turns out that all that’s left of the fortress is the wall you can see from below. But there was a quaint little church up there too, so it wasn’t all for nothing. And we found the botanical gardens from our view up there, which we walked to next. For dinner we headed back to the area we had eaten the night before and tried a different place. We also found a café that served gelato and stopped there every night as well. They had some very unusual flavors: kiwi, caramel, grape, etc.
Tuesday we headed out to the Ethnographic Museum, which is in the outskirts of Tbilisi. They have houses from different eras of Georgian history, showing how the people lived, what they used for cooking, sleeping, their handicrafts, etc. It was a fascinating place to walk around and talk to the guides they had there. You could see how their building changed over time and how they kept up their crafts and handiwork. That night we went to the Turkish baths, which are sulfur baths and very hot. But it felt good after all the walking we had done to just sit and relax in the hot water. We had also visited many churches and a magnificent cathedral in Tbilisi. The churches are filled with icons, stained glass, candles and incense, and music, so all one’s senses are stirred upon entering. What I did find interesting, though, is that although these are tourist places, they are more places of worship and have no gift shops or literature for sale. I was disappointed because I did want to know what the icons were and from which century. I will have to do some research on this at a later date.
We had taken marshutneys both up to and back from Georgia, and these are really an adventure and a good way to learn about the culture. Lisa lives very near the border of Georgia, so she met me at the border and on the way down got off just after the border. On the way up, I sat with a young man who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco about 10 years ago. He was going to Tbilisi to visit one of his friends from that time. It was very interesting to hear about his service and that culture. And talking with someone always makes the ride go faster, especially on a 5 hour ride. On the way back, we made the mistake of getting in a marshutney that was also bringing fresh produce into Armenia. This became a factor when we got to the border, and it took us over 2 hours to cross. Some of the delay was because of a lot of traffic, but most was due to the fact that the produce had to be inspected. And, of course, we got there when the inspectors, all of them, were at lunch. When we finally got going again, and after Lisa had gotten off, it was near 5 PM.. One of the old men on the bus had brought some bread and a big chunk of cheese. He offered some to everyone, about 8 of us, and when he saw you finished the cheese or bread, he offered more. It was delicious and it turned out to be a good time. At another point we made a quick stop in a town, one of the other passengers got off and bought some fresh-baked bread and once again everyone was invited to partake. The Armenian sense of time is very different from the American. They don’t rush to get places, but rather enjoy the ride, talking with one another and sharing meals. It makes for a longer ride, but also a more enjoyable one.
This past month I also learned why most houses have gates to them. I have a gate leading up to the walkway to my house. One afternoon I forgot to close it. The next morning I had a few nice big presents from the cows that pass my house every day going back and forth to pasture. I now make sure that it is always closed.

October 4, 2010
School has been in session for just about a month and it feels as if we never left. This second year is so much easier than the first. For one thing, I know all the students by name as well as the faculty. I also know what is expected of me, the routine of the school and the curriculum. I can anticipate what’s coming up in the lessons and prepare for that. I also have my notes and lesson plans from last year. Of course, I continue to buy resource material to use, especially grammar exercise books. My counterpart loves when I go up to Yerevan since I always come back with new material.
I do have some new projects that I’ll be working on this year. The first one, which I’m really excited about, is putting together an on-line teacher training course. The British Council, which is the educational arm of the British Embassy here, put one out last year, which I took and was terribly disappointed with. So I talked to my Program Manager about it and she agreed that it’s worthwhile pursuing and she asked me to be the project coordinator. I have gathered a team of 6 other PCVs, including 2 IT people. We hope to have a pilot up and running by April. Most of the team consists of the new volunteers, since they will be the ones using it the most. Besides that, we will also put together a manual of all the teacher training courses that are being done in country now by the different PCVs. This will have a short summary of the course, who has taught it and other relevant information. Hopefully this will enable more PCVs to do training courses without having to reinvent the wheel.
I am also helping to re-organize the Peer Support Network here in Armenia. In the past it seems to have been a loosely connected support network. This year we hope to have a more formal group, including having some in-service training and other professional development meetings. There will be 6 of us on it for now, again heavily loaded with the newer volunteers. I’m hoping our first gathering/training will take place this month. In this area, at least, I’ll be able to use some of previous experience and background. Of course, both of these projects will mean frequent trips up to Yerevan at the beginning, but I think they are both worth it.
About 3 weeks ago I learned that the man who delivered my firewood last winter is moving to Russia at the end of this month. Luckily this is not my first winter here so I know about how much wood I’ll need. He has promised to try and have the 8 meters I want to me before he moves. Of course, then the problem became where to store it. Last winter he stored it and delivered it to me monthly. I have only so much storage space that is covered on my deck. So last week I had about 6 of the boys from school stack some of the wood in my basement. They will also bring it up during the winter as I need it. They love doing things for me and made a real contest out of it to see who could carry the most. I hope their enthusiasm doesn’t wear out!
I have noticed this year the rhythm of this village and the sights, sounds and smells that accompany each season. Since they are mainly subsistence farmers, they really do live off the land. For the past few weeks the village resounds with the buzz of saws cutting wood and the braying of the donkeys carrying the wood down from the hills and mountains. The women and children are busy gathering the crops of fall vegetables and then canning them or making jellies and compote. And even though we had an incredibly dry summer, the leaves are beginning to change colors, which only adds to the beauty of this village.
But my big news, which didn’t even happen here in Armenia, is that my youngest daughter, Kerin, got engaged last week to Chuck. I am very happy and excited about this. I had told my children that there were to be no weddings while I was gone, but engagements were fine. They hope to have an October wedding next year. It will make a nice symmetry to my Peace Corps service. My oldest daughter, Kristin, got married a few weeks before I left, and now Kerin will get married a few weeks after I get home.

September 5, 2010
I had to go back up to Yerevan two weeks ago so I decided to go up early and visit my host family from last summer. It was so relaxing and felt so good to be back there. The grandmother wasn’t home, but the two daughters-in-law, their children and one son were home. This was the first time I spent a few days there and didn’t have any studying to do so I was able to observe how the household works. Karine, the daughter-in-law who lives there full time, has taken over the chores that Ella, the grandmother, usually does, like milking the cows collecting the eggs, etc. Besides this, she still does all the cooking and baking. Narine, the other daughter-in-law who with her two children stay there for the summer, does all the cleaning up. It’s amazing to watch these two women work and be together. They are really good friends and it’s a joy to be with them. We spent most of Friday baking gatta, an Armenian pastry that is absolutely delicious. Everything is made from scratch so it takes a bit longer than it does at home. There is such a sense of community in that village, which is not as apparent in the village where I live now. Friday night we walked over to the daughter’s house and joined some other women sitting outside and having coffee. The kids kept coming in and out of the circle to say hello and ask how I was doing. Some of the nephews stayed over that night and then in the morning the women came to the house for coffee and say goodbye. I hope to visit them again a few more times before I leave country. I really do feel like a part of that family.
School finally started again on Wednesday, Sept. 1, the traditional opening day of school. They have a wonderful ceremony here called “First Bell.” All the students dress in black and white, generally new clothes bought for this occasion. They all gather outside where there is a short ceremony, honoring students’ for their work last year, welcoming the new first graders, and this year all the teachers had to take an oath about being prepared and present for classes. Then one of the older boys picks up one of the first graders, gives him a small bell, which he rings. He is carried into the school building where he rings the school bell. A lot of the parents and grandparents come to this and it’s really a nice way to start the school year, especially against the beautiful background here in Vachagan. This year we have 38 students in our school, down from 43 last year, and one grade actually has 6 students in it.
All the PCVs in the Kapan area gathered a few weekends ago for what’s called “warden’s weekend.” This is where we go over safety issues, like how to get to Yerevan in case of a national emergency, and set up a contact chain. This year there are 11 of us in this area, although 3 of them are south of us very close to the Iranian border. As I’ve mentioned to some of you, this year will be different since there are any other senior volunteers down by me. While I do enjoy being with the younger volunteers, it’s also nice every now and then to be with someone closer to my age. I’ll have to rely a lot on phone calls to the other senior PCVs in country.
Our Country Director’s term is up in October. Lee has been a wonderfully supportive CD and will be missed, especially by my group. She will be going to work in Afghanistan, of all places, with US AID. I was fortunate enough to be up in Yerevan this past weekend and was able to say goodbye to her in person. Our new CD will be a man, who will come in January. He is presently in Morocco and needs to finish up some work there first. So we will have an acting CD for a few months.
I went up to Yerevan for a Saturday meeting, but because of the distance and transportation I needed to leave here on Friday. That night there was a football (soccer) game between Armenia and Ireland. About 12 of us went and it was pretty good, especially since the Irish won. There were a lot of Irish fans who came to root on their team and most of them were staying at the hostel. This worked to my advantage Friday night as they put me in a private apartment, away from the wild Irishmen. Shannon was also able to stay with me in the apartment so we were able to get a good night’s sleep and then just laze around Saturday morning. Unfortunately, they moved me Saturday night into one of the larger rooms that normally sleeps 8, but last night had 10 in it. I think there was only one other woman in the hostel last night, and she was one of the Irish fans. Some of the Irish had actually missed their planes back to Ireland Saturday morning and couldn’t get another flight until Tuesday. I think they were drinking or something.
One of the young men in the room, not an Irishman, Josh is from Luxembourg just traveling around Armenia on his school holiday. He had arrived on Thursday and gone straight to Mt. Aragatz, the highest mountain in Armenia. I invited him to stay with me if he gets down this way. He was really interesting to talk to and I think he would like to hike Mt. Khustrup, which is the second highest mountain in Armenia and right near me.
All of the other volunteers who had been in Yerevan on Friday and Saturday, left Saturday to return to their villages/towns. Since I live so far, that wasn’t an option for me, so I had an evening in Yerevan by myself, which I completely enjoyed. The weather has been unseasonably hot, so I went to one of the outdoor cafes for dinner. It was relaxing to just sit and people watch. They have this wonderful play area for children of all ages right next to where I was, so I could watch the young children on the riding toys and in the inflatable houses, and also see the teenagers play ping pong. And since it was so nice out, there were tons of people enjoying it. I felt very comfortable there and very much at home.
My trip back down to Vachagan was very interesting. I had gotten up early to catch the marchutney, which leaves anywhere between 7 and 8:30 in the morning, depending on when it is full. I actually got to the bus area before the bus, but I wanted to get a good seat. There are usually 2 or 3 single seats, which I like the best. Anyway we left about 8:10 and besides the passengers, there was a lot of bags and baggage. I had put my backpack on the shelf above me so it won’t get stepped on or too squished. The road on the way out of Yerevan is lined on both sides with fruit and vegetable stands. Our driver kept slowing down whenever we approached one and at first I was getting annoyed. After all, I wanted to get home. However, I soon realized that the journey is as important, and can be fun, as the destination. So I began to relax and enter into the spirit of the trip. We stopped at one stand and some of the women got out and bought some vegetables and fruits. In fact one of them gave me some, since I hadn’t bought anything. After everyone got back on the bus, we started up again and soon found another stand to stop at. This time I did buy some eggplants and red peppers. By this time, there was so many bags, that we barely had floor space for our feet. And we had picked up an extra passenger who was sitting on a stool in the aisle. It was quite an accomplishment for some of the women to step over this stool and around all the bags. But everyone was enjoying themselves, and talking to one another, comparing what they bought and the prices they were able to get. I no longer cared about the time it was taking, but was enjoying being part of this group.

August 13, 2010
PST (pre-service training) is finally over for the new volunteers, the A18s. While at the beginning of the summer I hadn’t expected to spend as much time with them as I did, I’m glad I had the opportunity to do so. I was able to get to know most of them, especially the new TEFLs. I also got to know the training staff much better than last year. And of course being able to attend the tech sessions for the TEFLs I learned a lot too. There was a new TEFL tech trainer, Lilit, who brought a lot more content to the tech sessions than we had last year. She gave very useful handouts, which I was able to get as well. In a way, it was like a refresher course for me, one that re-energized me for the coming year.
On last Thursday, the A18s were sworn in. The ceremony was very similar to ours a year ago, but being on the other side was interesting. It was almost as if I was able to pay more attention than last year. I didn’t have to worry about walking up on the stage and trying not to fall. I didn’t have to worry about greeting the Ambassador afterwards. However, I still got emotional when they played our national anthem. It’s something about being in a foreign country and hearing “The Star Spangled Banner” that gets to me. I think it’s because it reminds me that I’m not home and I don’t hear it very often.
Anyway, 55 new volunteers have now joined us in Armenia. While the majority of them have been assigned to the same Marz I’m in, that doesn’t mean they are very close or that I’ll get to see them a lot. As I may have mentioned before, the roads in Armenia are not the best, nor is the public transportation. A village that is only 20 or 25 kilometers away may take over an hour to get to. We did get 4 new volunteers in the Kapan area, 2 of who actually live in Kapan. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of the older volunteers. But I am excited about the new mix and the energy and creativity they bring with them.
Since Shannon and I were up in Charentsavan last week, we were offered a free ride back to Kapan with the new volunteers. As we soon learned, something always happens with anything free. While it normally takes about 6 hours or so to get here, on Friday it took 12 hours! Now some of that extra time was due to having to drop off volunteers along the way. However, that probably only accounted for an extra hour or so. The rest of the time was due to mechanical problems with the bus. As we kept telling ourselves, we’re in the Peace Corps and nothing is easy.
However, I am glad to be back in my village, in my house! I’ve been able to spend time getting ready for the coming school year. I hope to be more relaxed and engaged in the classes this year, since I know what to expect. I’ve been going through some of the books I have in order to prepare activities for the various forms. I also want to start a writing club this year and I’ve been gathering material to help with that. And I’ve been able to just relax and enjoy the magnificent scenery from my windows and porch, and do some reading. I’ve been walking almost every day, even though that is not a common practice here. But the villagers are used to me by now and return my greetings as I pass them. Occasionally one of them will stop me and ask how I’m doing or offer me some vegetables from their gardens to take home. They are truly a very generous and hospitable people.

July 26, Charentsavan.
I was able to get home for about 10 days the beginning of this month. I didn't realize how much I missed the sights, sounds, and smells of my village. Being in Vachagan really did feel like home, and it was good.
Since there aren't any screen doors in this county, I made a curtain for my door so I could have some air in my house. THis is what all the houses have. I'm glad I made it because it was very hot in Vachagan, over 90, and there isn't any airconditioning. Having my door open also let the people in the village know that I was home. It wasn't long before some of the school kids came to exchange books. They had taken some of the English readers I had at the end of the school year, and I had told them they could exchange them when I was in the village. It's nice to know that they are reading during the summer. Some of the teachers, who were still working, also called up to me as they passed my house.
While I was home, the trainees went on their site visits. There will be 2 trainees coming to Kapan, the town near me. One is a TEFL and will be working at the Teacher's House, a resource center for teachers, and a part of the National Institute for Education. It will be good to have a contact there so I hear about any workshops that are going on. I may also give a few workshops. THe other trainee is a business person and will be working with a non-profit organization. It doesn't quite make up for the 4 PCVs who are finishing up their service and will be returning to the States, but at least we have a few new people.
The weekend after I returned to Charentsavan, we had our Mid-Service Conference. It was held at a sports complex that used to be used to train Olympic athletes. The facilities were great, as were the rooms. On Sunday night we had a kickball against the trainees, something that's a yearly event. My group won, which we also did last year, so we are undefeated. It was fun and a good way to mix with the trainees. For some reason both years I have been the coach of my team, so I don't have to play. The next night some of us went swimming. It felt so good to be swimming and the pool was clean, yet didn't have a chlorine smell.
Prior to going to MSC, we were all given a book, Strength Finders, and asked to do the online survey to find our strengthes. We then had a session on this which was very good. The idea is to work from your stengths and the book gave some tips on how to do this. There are about 30 strengths that they highlight and they give you your top 5. At the session, we met with the other PCVs who had the same strengths in the same order. Four out of the 5 of my top strengths were no surprise, but I'm still thinking about the 5th.
Another session that was good, was our sector session. We focused on the various challenges we have overcome in the past year in the classrooms. It was interesting to see how many of us had the same challenges, as well as some of the different one that had come up. We also talked about some challenges we hope to overcome this year. My biggest challenge is to get my counterpart to stop using so much Armenian in the classroom. This doesn't help the students with their speaking or listening. Another challenge is to get the students to do creative thinking and writing. I'm going to do a writing club after school this year to help with this.
THere is only another week and a half of training left, which means I get to go back to my village very soon. Most of the A16s have already left country, although a few are staying until Aug. 15. It's hard to believe that we will be the "seasoned" PCVs here in Armenia and only have a year left. I must be having fun because time is certainly flying.

Sunday, June 27, 2010
Turkey was wonderful. Istanbul is a fascinating, weaving both modern and ancient cultures together in a wonderful fashion. It is also a very crowded city, with over 11 million people.
When we started out on June 13, we still hadn't firmed up all our travel plans, so at times it seemed like we were on the Amazing Race, trying to figure out how to get from one place to another within a certain amount of time. But in the end everything worked out and we got where we wanted to go. We took a marchutny from Gyrumi into Georgia, where we found a taxi that would take us across the border into Turkey. The hostel we planned on staying at in Kars, Turkey, was under renovation, so we had to find another one, which we did. We then flew to Istanbul Monday morning.
I'm glad we did so much travel by land, because the landscape in this part of the world is beautiful. Whereas parts of Armenia are mountainous, but rocky, and other parts are treeless, Georgia has a lot of fir trees and gentle hills and mountains. In Turkey we drove over and around mountains that are beautiful and still had snow on the tops.
One of the things that struck me once we were in Tureky was the presence of mosques in all the towns and villages. You could see the minarettes sticking up above all the other buildings. It reminded me of driving through New England, where each little town has a church in the town center and you can see the spire from the highway. The other striking thing about Turkey is the color of the houses and apartment buildings. Whereas in Armenia everything is cement grey, in Turkey there are pinks, blues, yellows, greens, and oranges. It was joyful looking and not depressing.
We passed some villages in Turkey where the houses had grass growing on their roofs. I imagine it helps to keep them cool in the summer and warm in winter. It just looks funny to see them cutting the grass on the roof.
The hostel we stayed at in Istanbul was located near most of the major tourist attractions: the Blue Mosque (so named for the thousands of blue tiles in the interior), the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace/Museum, Grand Bazaar, and lots more.
On Tuesday we went to the Grand Bazaar first thing in the morning. This is a huge shopping mecca that seems to go on for miles. It reminded me of a very upscale flea market, with stall after stall of clothes, jewelry, crafts, etc. You could spend days in it and still not see it all.
We wanted to go to the Topkapi Museum, but it's closed on Tuesdays so we went to the Hagia Sophia instead. This was originally a cathedral, but was then converted into a mosque and now is just a museum. But it was absolutely maagniicent. The high domed ceilings, with frescoes, or what's left of them, all around; over-sized pictures of how the art work used to look; and of course they have a minbar (where the Imam prays) and stained glass windows which now reflect Moselm tenants. It's really amazing the sense of history present in buildings like that, as well as a sense of peace.
We met another PCV and her mother and aunt for dinner that night. Istanbul is full of restaurants that have rooftop seating, with spectacular views of the city. We tried a different one every night.
On Wednesday we went to the Spice Bazaar, another interesting experience. There were a lot of spice and tea booths, as well as rugs, jewelry and clothes. I bought a green and lemon tea mix and a chicken spice, both of which I look forward to using when I get back to my house. It was interesting to haggle with them, which they expect, as well as to just smell all the different aromas. Right near this was the New Mosque, so named because it's just 800 years old. We had to take off our shoes and put on shawls to cover our heads in order to go in. When we wnet in it was during the noon prayer time, and they have a section just for visitors, so we were able to stay and watch. I was enthralled by how much ritual there is and how everyone moved as one.
After lunch we went to the Topkapi Museum. This is a huge place that has sultans' clothes displayed, with explanations as to when they were worn, how it was made and for who; as well as jewels and swords. In one room they had a display of Japanese art. Just walking around and going into the rooms and buildings gave us a sense of the granduer of it all. It was definitely a different time. We spent about 3 1/2 hours there and still didn't see it all.
On Thursday we firmed up our plans for getting to Selcuk. We had wanted to go by ferry and train, but they were both booked, so we went to Plan B and booked an overnight bus for Friday night. We then went through the Blue Mosque. The courtyard of this is resplendent with flowers: impatiens, begonias, roses. We again had to take off our shoes and put on scarfs before entering the mosque. We had met a man outside who became our guide and told us all about the mosque. He really was very helpful and helped us appreciate it much more. For instance he showed us a special place off to one side in the front that is reserved for dignitaries.
After taking us through the mosque he invited us for some apple tea at his shop. He and his nephew run a rug shop, of which there are probably a few hundred in Istanbul. While we drank the tea the nephew gave us a history lesson of the carpets and kilims, ,while spreading out before us a magnificent display of both. I found out that kilims are handmade of cotton, while carpets are handmade of wool or silk or a combination of both. I bought 2 small kilims, which I'll probably use as wall hangings.
That afternoon, Shannon and I took off for a walk through the non-tourist area. We wanted to get to the water, which we eventually did. However, before that we walked down some very interesting streets, which I'm sure most touists never see. They were narrow, winding alleys, with narrow tall houses/apartments. Yet still they were colorful and not as depressing as in Armenia. Kids were playing in the street, mothers were gathered on stoops or talking to one another through windows, and toddlers sat on windowsills protected by the guard rails. Very homey scenes indeed!
After much wandering we finally made our way to the road that runs along the shore. It was delightful and refreshing to walk along the water. We could see a whole bunch of freighters out at sea, as well as some sail boats and cruise ships. There were men and boys (no females) swimming. The boys had strung together empty water bottles, tied them around their waists or upper arms, and used the as life preservers. Very resourceful.
Friday was a very relaxing day, with no real sightseeing on our part. Shannon and I again set out on a walk. At one point Shannon went to use a portajohn by the boatyard. I got interested in watching the men haul out a boat and others were building wood boats and just lost track of time. It seems that Shannon had gotten locked in the portajohn and was yelling for me to get her out. The wind was blowing the wrong way so I couldn't hear her. Luckily some men on one of the boats finally heard her and let her out. I bought her a beer after that as a way of making up for it.
The overnight bus ride to Selcuk wasn't too bad. At one point we took a short ferry ride. It was very reminiscent of the Port Jeff ferry: cars and trucks lined up waiting to be loaded on. We were able to get off the bus and walk around for a bit and it was a clear, calm night. I forgot how much I miss being on the water.
The hostel we stayed at in Selcuk was absolute fantastic. It's called Atilla's Getaway. Atilla, the owner, is an Aussie, so there were lots of Aussie's staying there. There was a swimming pool, an outdoor bar, a pool table, and lots of lounge chairs. It was a wonderful place to end our vacation: very relaxing. If we had gone there first, I don't think I would have left to see Istanbul.
We went into Ephesus Sunday morning. I didn't realize how big Ephesus was, and how important it was at the time. It was amazing to think that we were walking down roads that Hadrian and Cleopatra walked on; that we were sitting in an ampitheater where Paul spoke and gladiators fought. They had audiotapes to help understand what all the buildings were and how the city had developed and the importance it was. We took about 3 hours going through it. That afternoon and most of the next two days were spent by the pool.
Monday night we took an overnight bus back to Istanbul and then boarded a bus for Tbilisi, Georgia and then a marchutney for Yerevan, Armenia. In all it was about 48 hours on buses. But the countryside was beautiful and we road along the Black Sea for a while. I'm glad we traveled the way we did, it added adventure to the trip.
While I definitely enjoyed the trip, it was good to come back to Armenia, to come back home (at least home for another year).

Saturday, June 12
I've been with the new trainees for this past week and it's nice to have this chance to get to know them. There are 58 of them spread out over 7 villages, mostly sorted according to the work they will be doing here. While I met with all of them on Wednesday for one session, I met with 4 of the villages on Thursday, two at a time. It's a bit different being the trainer rather than the trainee and I'm pleased with how much input into their training we've actually been allowed to give. But, as my program manager said, we're the ones in the field and we know what the new people really need to learn. I can really identify with them during this stage of their training: trying to acclimate to a new culture, living with a new family, learning a new language and learning about how to do their job in a different culture. But, as I keep telling them, it's worth all the hard work and frustrations.
The Peace Corps rents out a few apartments in Charentsavan, the main town which the villages surround. I stayed in one of them this past week, which was nice and I had the place to myself. The other volunteers working this week were all young men, who stayed at one of the other places. On Thursday night, instead of going out to eat, we met at their place and Bryan cooked for us. It was fun just sitting around and sharing some of our experiences during this past year and playing some games.
Tomorrow I'm off to Turkey, which I'm really excited about and looking forward to. We've been planning this for a few months, but typical Peace Corps style, our travel plans are still a bit up in the air with some gaps in getting from one place to another. I know it'll all work out and I'm really not worried about it. There are 4 of us going, 3 of us older and one of the tweeners, a 30+ volunteer. It should be fun. It seems odd to me that here I am in the Peace Corps and yet I get to travel to some amazing places.

June 2, 2010
It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Armenia for a year! This past weekend the new group of volunteers arrived. I went up on Friday to stay with my host family from last summer in Karashamb. They are such a wonderful family and they are getting a volunteer again this year. John, the son and father of the two young children, has been working in Russia since February. There is no work in or near Karashamb so he was offered this job through a friend of his. The house definitely has a different feeling to it without him. John is a fun-loving guy and loved to have all the other volunteers over. They wanted me to stay the whole weekend, but I had made arrangements to stay with another volunteer in Hrazdan for Saturday and Sunday nights. And I knew they would be busy getting things ready for their new volunteer. But it was nice to be back in that village and there were several other volunteers also staying with their host families.
The new trainees had arrived early Saturday morning and went right to where they were staying until Tuesday. They were all a bit tired, but we had a meet and greet in Bjini, a nearby village, at 3:30. There are 58 in this new group, ranging in age from 20 to 75. We kept the meet and greet short so we just had time to say hello and maybe talk to 2 or 3. We were supposed to meet them at the church in Bjini, but there was a wedding there so we went to a park, which probably turned out better. I remember our meet and greet from last year as if it were yesterday. It will be strange, but nice, to be the “seasoned” group here in Armenia.
The welcoming committee had arranged for a short gathering of the over 50 trainees and some of us for Sunday night. Five of us went to meet with them and it was nice to have a chance to get to know them. They asked us questions about how it is to be an older volunteer and what were our challenges. I just told them to make sure they mingle with the younger volunteers and not segregate themselves. The younger volunteers have a lot to teach us and when they feel comfortable with us, they also feel comfortable coming to us for advice. One of the most important parts of my service has been being with the younger volunteers. They asked us to come back for Monday night and so 3 of us did that.
On Monday I moved from Hrazdan to Charentsavan, the town where the training staff sets up offices and where the trainees come for their central days. The PC has rented a few apartments for PCVs, like myself, who will be helping out with the training. Danya was also staying there, so we went out for a nice supper and then went to the apartment. Danya decided to take a shower, since she doesn’t have one in her house. However, we couldn’t get the hot water to work in the bathroom, only in the kitchen. So she decided to use a pail to put hot water into a larger pail and use that in the tub. She filled the smaller pail and went to pour the water into the other pail, only to find out that the small pail had a hole in the side, near the bottom. And since the larger pail was on the other side of the kitchen, there was a trial of water across the kitchen floor. Then she proceeded to put more hot water into the pail with the hole. All this only to discover that the hot water was then working in the bathroom. It’s going to be an interesting summer.
Late Tuesday morning I got a ride back into Yerevan to the PC offices. I was surprised to find no other PCV in the IRC, so I was able to get some work done on the computer there. Brent, another PCV, soon arrived and so after a while we decided to get some lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening with this incredible young man. Brent is in the business sector and works at World Vision, an NGO that’s very active throughout Armenia. A few months ago he grought a group of young people to Kapan (ages 14 and 15) who led a workshop on AIDS. Before coming to PC, he had twice spent time in India at Mother Teresa’s hospital, he worked for a refugee resettlement program in Texas, he had spent 2 and ½ months in New Zealand as an intern, and he’s been to other places doing volunteer work. He cares deeply about people and being able to help them make a better life for themselves. All this and he’s only in his mid-twenties! We sat at two different outdoor cafes and talked about PC, our first year here and theology. And he enjoys having a good time and acting like a kid.
Tuesday was Children’s Day in Armenia. Yerevan had a lot of activities going on in conjunction with this. There were families walking about enjoying the beautiful weather and the carnival atmosphere. As Brent and I walked around he was given a balloon by a batman character. We were soon joined by another PCV who remarked that he looked like a big kid – sandals, rolled-up jeans, and a balloon, sort of Huck Finnish.
It’s people like Brent, and the Peace Corps is full of them, that really give me hope for the future. This is why I have so enjoyed getting to know these young people.
I finally returned to my house Wednesday afternoon. While it will be a short stay, I leave again for Charentsavan next Tuesday, it just feels so good to be home.

May 25, 2010
School is over for this year, the students just have state exams to take, so they will be in and out for the next 3 weeks. Unfortunately I missed the last week of school because I was up in Yerevan helping plan for the new volunteers who are coming this Saturday.
Shannon and I took a taxi up on Friday, May 14. We had a committee meeting first thing Saturday morning and then I left for Ijevan, where I attended environmental camp counselor training. There were about 20 of us, including some Armenians, who had volunteered to be counselor. Of course, the other trainees were somewhat younger than me. We were lucky that the training wasn’t two weeks earlier because there had been a landslide on the road to Ijevan, which meant that you could take one marshutney up to the landslide, climb over the mud and trees, and then get into another marshutney. I’m not sorry that I missed that experience. During the training we went through a lot of the activities that the children will be doing and the overall curriculum for the camps. There are going to be 5 green camps this year, unfortunately all of them are in the northern part of the country. The Americans all stayed at the house of one of the sponsors and founders of the green camps. I was promised a bed, but that didn’t work out so I slept on the floor with the other counselors. But we did have a horovatz, their version of a BBQ. I got back to Yerevan Sunday evening and spent the rest of the week at the hostel.
I had volunteered to help with the planning for the new volunteers’ training, which is what I wound up doing the rest of the week. When I left Vachagan on Friday, I thought I would only be in Yerevan until Tuesday or Wednesday. However, once I got to PC office, I was asked to become more involved. Luckily I had packed extra clothes
I didn’t have to be at any meetings until Monday afternoon, so Shannon and I did some shopping Monday morning, which turned out to be my only free time. There were 4 of us who were asked to help with redoing the cross-cultural training curriculum. And we only had 2 days within which to do this. This meant using a generic workbook that PC put together, sequencing the topics, and coming up with lesson plans for each of the 7 sessions.
After we finished with that, since we were all English teachers, we were asked to help the new tech trainer in our sector. This again coming up with a revised curriculum, suggesting volunteers who could do each session, and coming up with TDAs (trainee directed assignments) for some of the sessions. The TDAs are a new addition to the training so we had nothing to draw from. The practicum for the English teachers is a model school the last 2 weeks of training. I was asked to coordinate that, which I’m happy to do.
While I was looking forward to being a camp counselor, unfortunately I had to give that up. But luckily, the camp I was going to help out at had a lot of counselors, so Katie the PCV in charge was fine with me not doing it. I might try it next summer. So my summer will be busy and a lot of it will be spent in Charentsevan, but I am looking forward to it.
Even though we were terribly busy last week, we did manage to get in some culture events. Tuesday night we went to a dance performance at the Opera House. It was very similar to “River Dance,” with a lot of Armenian folk dances. Some of them remind me of Irish step dancing. The costumes and dances were really amazing. Then on Wednesday we went to an opera, “Anush.” This is the most well-known Armenian opera. The sets were spectacular and the singing was extraordinary. They had some programs in English so we had a general idea of what was happening. I’m going to get the schedule for performances at the Opera House, so when I’m in Yerevan I can take advantage of this. The tickets are very reasonable so there’s no reason not to go. Another highlight of my week in Yerevan was going to dinner with another volunteer, Barbara, to a wonderful little Italian restaurant. This place is very small, with only 5 tables. However, the food is exquisite. Barbara had been there before and had raved about the steak, so that’s what I ordered. I don’t usually order steak in an Italian restaurant, but I am so glad that I did. The steak was one of the best I’ve ever had, it practically melted in my mouth. They cooked it exactly the way I wanted it and it was cooked with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. I will definitely go to this place again.
As I said school is over and the last day was Saturday, which I was very glad to back for. They all it “Last Bell,” since it is the last time the 11th graders will be there. They had a graduation ceremony of sorts. The hall was decorated with streamers and balloons, and a small stage was set up at one end. The first graders marched in with the 11th graders and during the ceremony they exchanged gifts. There was a slide show, showing the 11th graders throughout their school years. The PE teacher had made up poems about all the faculty, including me, and the students took turns reading them and presenting flowers to the appropriate teacher. Afterwards they had a luncheon for the graduates and their families. A lot of othere villagers came to watch, besides the families. As I said, I was very glad I made it back in time.
I also realized that spending an entire week in the hostel is a bit much for me. While I enjoy being with the younger volunteers, I also need some quiet time, which is not available there. It was like living in a college dorm, a co-ed one at that. But the place is reasonable, clean and has nice hot showers. I also found out they have an iron and a hair dryer we can use. It’s the little things that make it worth it.
This weekend the new trainees come and I will be going back up north on Friday. Friday night I will be staying with my host family from last summer, who are just wonderful people. I was even able to call them by myself and make the arrangements, so I am making progress with this language. But I will have to bring my dictionary with me.

May 1, 2010
This past month was a very busy one. The online course I’ve been taking, while not what I had hoped it would be, does take up some time. We have 2 sections which we do each week consisting of a series of online activities, reflections, and a little reading. I had hoped for more new information or at least some more in-depth readings, but that has not proved to be the case. There are only 3 more weeks left. The real challenge for me has been getting online. The best days for me to access the internet at school are Tuesdays and Thursdays, since the computer teacher is not at school those days. Unfortunately, the past two weeks the internet has been down more than it’s been on. So I’ve had to go down to Kapan more often. I’ll be glad when it’s over.
I made my monthly trip up to Yerevan 2 weekends ago. Unfortunately, it had to be a very short trip – Friday going up and Saturday coming back down. But, there were a lot of other PCVs in Yerevan that weekend so it was good to see them. Most stay at the hostel where I do, which turns into a Peace Corps dorm of sorts on those weekends. The committee I’m on, volunteerism in Armenia, and the reason for going to Yerevan is making some good headway. We are hoping to have some workshops for adults this month, a sort of training, and then have them run the camps for the younger children and forums for the young adults. It’s hard to imagine people not understanding the concept of volunteerism and how it’s good for one’s town, region, country. I know it will be a slow process and will take years before this is nationally recognized as beneficial for all.
The trip back to Kapan that Saturday was probably the worst I’ve had to date. There were 6 of us so we had a minivan, which picked us up at 2pm. Normally we would have been back in Kapan by 7:00 or 7:30. However, our driver made 10 stops for various reasons – to buy mushrooms on the side of the road, to buy wine on the side of the road, to buy lavash, to buy car parts. We finally complained to him that we didn’t want to make any more stops, so then he started to drive really fast. The last part of our trip is going over 2 mountains, which consists of a lot of switch-backs. The tires on the van were squealing on the turns, which shows how fast he was going. We all so nervous, that we just started laughing to relieve the tension. The next day Barbara phoned the taxi company to complain about the driver. We did find out there is another taxi company that goes to Yerevan, which we will now start using. It’s bad enough to have to spend 5 ½ hours in a taxi, but I don’t’ want to have to worry about how safe the driver will be on top of it.
The reason we had to come back Saturday was to help with the regional spelling bee on Sunday. The region I live in has a yearly spelling bee and that Sunday was the final. About 5 years ago a Peace Corps volunteer started this and so we are very heavily involved in running it. Although next year we are going to hand over some of the responsibilities to the Armenian teachers. The spelling bee is open to students in grades 7 through 11. I was amazed at how well these young people could spell in English. For the 8th graders we had to go to the 10th grade words before we had a winner. And for the 11th graders, we almost ran out of words. These are some serious spellers.
This past week was very hectic, with a lot of unexpected events happening. On Tuesday we had a ‘consolidation’ which is a safety procedure for PCVs. When a consolidation is called, we are to go to our warden’s house as quickly as possible, bringing with us our backpacks filled with clothes, laptops, etc. These are called when there is a threat to our safety throughout the country. This was just a practice one, but we still had to do it. I had just gotten out of the shower when I got the call to go to Joe’s, in Kapan. So I spent the day in Kapan, since we weren’t given the all clear to go back to our sites until close to noon. A few volunteers from other regions were visiting in Kapan, so I got to see them and spend the day with them. That afternoon Brent, a volunteer from up north, was putting on a seminar about AIDs for 8th and 9th graders. He had brought down about 8 students who facilitated the seminar. Seven of my kids came down for it, so I met them when they got off the marshutney. It was a great seminar and I was very proud of my kids participated in it. The next day they couldn’t wait to tell the rests of the faculty about it.
When I got into school on Wednesday, I found out from my counterpart that there was going to be a series of English teacher meetings in Kapan that afternoon and the next two afternoons as well. This meant that we had to have our schedule changed so we could make the meetings. During the morning it started to snow in the village and did so off and on for the next day. When I woke up on Thursday I had no electricity! I went to school early that day because I knew they would have the wood-burning stoves on and I could get warm by them. And I thought this was Spring. The meetings were okay, nothing very interesting or new. But it is a way to get to know the other English teachers in this area. One of them asked about getting a volunteer for her school, which I hope comes about. She might be too late in asking for this year, but hopefully next year she’ll get one.
The weather has been very erratic. A few weeks ago it was in the 60s and then as I said we had snow two days this week. But it also has been very rainy, when it’s not snowing. This makes my walk to school very interesting. There’s this area, which I call the mud flats, that is always an adventure crossing through. Some of the students had put down some roof tiling, but with all the rain the tiles are now sinking. I’m never quite sure if my shoe is going to stay on my foot or get stuck in the mud. It was actually easier when it was frozen. With all the rain the water is again getting brown, not as bad as it was in March, but close. I make sure that my water filter is filled,, along with a bucket I have.
We found out this week that we will end school on May 22, which means we only have 3 more weeks of school left. Of course we have to make up the extra week we’re still missing from December. This means that we’ll have extra classes most days for the next 2 weeks. The Ministry of Education realized that if they kept school open later into May a lot of the students wouldn’t attend because they’d be helping on the family farm. Plus, these kids haven’t had any time off since January. So now I will seriously begin to plan my summer.
May 4, 2010
Another Peace Corps moment: my gas balloon ran out of gas Sunday night as I was cooking my dinner. Luckily I have a countertop electric oven, so I could finish cooking my dinner in that. I didn’t realize that’s what had happened at first, since I only got the balloon in February and I did a lot of cooking on my wood-burning stove. However, today the electrician/handyman finally came to my house and told me that’s what it was. I will now have to wait until Saturday until it will be filled. Someone in the village works down in Kapan where they fill these balloons. He will pick up my balloon either Thursday or Friday and then return it on Saturday. In the meantime, I will have to bake everything. I just won’t be able to have tea or coffee until then. But I may go to Kapan tomorrow and buy an electric kettle. I’m sure this won’t be the last time this happens and I might as well be prepared.
Today Armenians celebrate the end of WWII. It’s very different living in a country that was involved in the war on its own soil. Because this was the 65th anniversary of the end of the war, the celebration was a bit bigger. The school prepared a presentation, including honoring the 89 men who lost their lives in that war with a slide show that had a picture of each of the men. That’s a lot for such a small village. There are still 2 veterans who are alive and they were present tonight and received special recognition. The kids did a wonderful job with recitation of poems, dancing and some singing of national songs. I was very proud of them all and was glad to have been present during the presentation.
Two of the boys just came to my house to get my balloon. One of them is a 10th grade student, who wasn’t in school today. When I asked him where he was, he just said he’ll be in school tomorrow. But I told him he doesn’t have English tomorrow and missed it today. He said he’ll see me tomorrow. I really enjoy seeing the students out of the classroom and being able to talk to them, a little, a very little.

March 29, 2010
The past two weeks have been very busy and interesting. First, my counterpart and I were observed by the school director and one other teacher. I didn’t know they were coming, which was probably better, but my counterpart did, not that it would have made any difference in what we did. It was our 5th form class, which has 5 students in it. We did our usual routine, which helped relax the students, so we started out with 10 minutes of reading. Then we went to the curriculum and I must say the students were quite active in that lesson. During the debriefing, the school director asked why we have them read. My response was that reading helps build vocabulary and they seem to like it. I was a bit confused by the question, since I wasn’t sure if she was asking because she didn’t want us to do it anymore. For the most part they were pleased with the lesson and the way the two of us work together. I think they were also surprised by how much interaction I have with the students. The next day I read a report online that said that students who are learning a new language do much better if they have some reading time in that language. Needless to say I shared that with the school director. She actually is in favor of the reading, but was just interested as to why we were doing it.
I also met with the director of a youth center in Kapan who asked if I would do some English language classes there. It will be primarily for the staff, but will also be open to anyone else interested, between the ages of 18 and 30. It seems that in order for the people to take advantage of some European activities, they need to have a certain level of English proficiency. I will be starting those classes next Monday. It may work out that everyone will be in the same class with the same level of English. But I may have to split them into 2 groups, which I’ll do back to back. My hope is that we will get more English teachers from the new Peace Corps coming this year, and that one of them will take this over. I don’t relish the thought of coming down the mountain every week during the winter.
The weather up to that Thursday had been very nice, with temperatures getting up to the 50s. However on Thursday it started to snow. It snowed all day. By Friday morning we had about 18 inches of snow and it was still snowing. I was leaving on Saturday morning to go up to Yerevan in order to fly to Dubai on Sunday. The teachers from Kapan had to walk up to my village, since the taxis and marchutneys were not coming up the mountain. So I made arrangements to stay at Shannon’s on Friday night. After school, I called a taxi, but I had to walk down part of the mountain, since the taxis were still not able to get all the way up. I didn’t care what I had to do, but I was going on vacation!
It worked out well since Friday afternoon there was a writing Olympics in Kapan which I wound up helping to monitor and then judge. It’s amazing how well some of these kids write in what is basically a third language for them. They could choose from 3 topics and had one hour to write. There were a few who clearly had no idea what to do, but for the most part they were good. No one from my school participated, since the spelling bee had just happened, and we have a very limited pool from which to draw. Maybe next year.
The trip up to Yerevan Saturday morning was very interesting. We have to go over two mountains just outside of Kapan, with switch backs up and down. The side of the first mountain has a lot of shade covering the road, so it was a bit icy in parts. On one switch back going up the mountain, our van started to slide backwards. The driver got it to a point where it leveled off and was able to get up. It was slow going, but once we crossed the mountains, the roads were fine. The only trouble was that our van kept backfiring the whole trip!
Dubai is an extravagant place, to say the least. It was like going from one extreme to the other between Dubai and Vachagan. The highlight for me of course was seeing Kate and Andrew. Unfortunately though, they both had to work that week, but we would all have dinner together every night. For those of you who know them, their work schedules in Dubai are as bad as they were in London and New York, which meant we were going to dinner at 9 most nights.
The first two days we were there, Shannon and I took the bus tour around the city. It was interesting as we drove around to see the different dress styles on the women. Some were in the full burka, others had the long robes on and some just had the head covering. The same with the men. Some wear the traditional Arab long white robe and head covering, and others are in suits. They have two different routes, one more in the center of the city and the other around the outskirts. We went to a great underground museum which told about the history of Dubai and the people who settled it. We got off and walked around a “souk” which is their outdoor malls, and this one was specializing in gold. We also saw the indoor “ski resort” they have in one of their malls. Like I said, Dubai is extreme!
On Thursday, Andrew took off from work and we drove to Abu Dabbi to visit the huge mosque they have their. It’s one of the largest in the world. They give tours, which took about an hour and a half, and explain a lot about their religion and rituals. Shannon and I had to wear veils and a long black robe in order to go in. The former president of the UAE planned and paid for most of this mosque. He died in 2004 and they have a separate building where his tomb is and they read from the Koran 24/7, which they’ve been doing for the past 6 years. This is their way of showing their respect and love for this man. We also went to the Palace Hotel, which is huge. You know it’s something special when they bring bus tours to a hotel.
Friday came all too quickly and we had to come back to Armenia. After having walked around in sandals all week, it was hard to get back into winter clothes. But the snow had melted and it’s almost spring-like here most days. I still light my wood burning stove at night to get the chill out of my house, but it’s nice not to have to wear multiple layers whenever I go out.
April 6, 2010
A belated Happy Easter! I decided to stay in Kapan for Easter, mainly because I would have had to take more time off from school in order to go up to Gyumri to attend the Catholic Church there. A few of us decided to try the Armenian Apostolic Church for Easter services. They had a Saturday night Mass, which we went to because I had heard that the Sunday Mass was always crowded. It was very different from the Mass I’m used to, the priest has his back to the congregation, and of course it was all said in Armenian. It reminded me of pre-Vatican II Mass, specifically a high Mass since most of this one was sung. Next year I will go to Gyumri.
Sunday we all had dinner together at Barbara’s apartment. It’s always nice to be with the other Peace Corps volunteers, especially on holidays. Shannon and I showed them our pictures, Barbara had hidden Easter presents (she couldn’t find the plastic eggs) so we had an Easter hunt.
The men in the village have started to plant their produce. The fields are all nicely plowed and after school the boys go to help. I’m hoping to have a small garden in my yard. Yesterday as I was leaving to go to town, one of my neighbors was in my yard, with two of her cows. Occasionally she lets them into my yard to, as she says, help fertilize the yard. I don’t have a big yard but there was some uncut grass that the cows were busily eating. I hope once I have the garden in she stops bringing her cows around.

March 10, 2010
Armenia is an interesting when it comes to the holidays that they celebrate here. In January, we had Soldiers’ Day, which was a national holiday and so everyone was off. Last month, on Feb. 23, we celebrated Men’s Day, which was not a holiday. So to acknowledge it at school, we had our usual celebration of wine, candy and cakes at our longer break between classes. The school director also gave the three men on staff small gifts.
Luckily I’ve become familiar with how my counterpart runs her classes and we work very well together. Two weeks ago, she had to leave school in the morning due to a death in the family. Instead of cancelling the English classes for the day, I did them by myself. They actually went pretty well, mainly because the kids are used to me by now. With my limited vocabulary I was able to follow the lesson plans and get the main points across. I couldn’t do it all the time, but for one day it was fine.
In fact my speaking ability, while not stellar by any means, is getting better. I’m just a bit more confident now and not as hesitant to try. I can now call my hairdresser and make an appointment over the phone. The phone is hard because the line isn’t always clear, but I do my best. And I can order my own taxi, too. While these may seem like small things, with this language and my limited ability, they’re major steps.
The first week in March is Peace Corps Week. We were each encouraged to acknowledge this in some way at our sites. I decided, since I’m the first volunteer in my village, to have some of the other volunteers in the nearby town come up and speak about their jobs to the teachers and students. I invited an environmental educator and a business person. Unfortunately, at the last moment the environmental person couldn’t make it. However, I think it went very well. I had made a poster depicting the Peace Corps symbol and listed each of the sectors that Peace Corps works in. Andrea, the business volunteer, and I each spoke about our sectors and then about one of the other sectors as well. We also gave a general overview of what Peace Corps is all about, how long it’s been around and how long it’s been here in Armenia. We then opened it up for questions. The kids had some really good questions and overall were very attentive and well behaved. I had worn my Peace Corps pin all week and that drew a lot of attention and questions. The first day I think everyone in the school asked me about it. Next year is the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps, so we’ll plan something a bit bigger.
Last weekend we held a local spelling bee. Each of the schools around Kapan were invited to participate. A list of words for grades 7 through 11 were sent out in October and each school could send 2 per grade level. This was the first year that my school participated and we had 2 from both 8th and 9th grades. One of the 8th graders came in 4th, out of about 12. There will be a regional spelling bee next month, but only the top 2 from each grade go to that. Hopefully next year, we will do better. It’s good experience for the kids, to see how well some of their peers can spell. One of the volunteers,, Danya, from further south came up to help judge and she stayed with me for 2 nights. It was nice to spend time with her and I hope to visit her this spring and do some hiking down by her.
I will be taking an online course for the next 12 weeks. This is sponsored by the British Council, the educational arm of the British Embassy here. The course is for English as a foreign language teachers. I think it’s the first online course offered in Armenia. Since I have internet access at my school, I should be able to do most of the work there. If not, I’ll go down to Kapan and use the computers at Shannon’s office. My main interest in taking this course is to learn about new activities and tasks to use, as well as to interact with other English teachers I might not otherwise meet.
This past Monday, March 8, was International Woman’s Day, which is a national holiday here in Armenia. It was nice to have a 3 day weekend. On Tuesday we had our usual celebration at school: wine, cakes and pizza. They also celebrate Mother’s Day in May. Tuesday there was also a “party.” This is actually what they call their assemblies. This one was a competition of sorts between four sets of 2 students, a boy and girl in each pair. They had to recite a poem, do a dance number, make sentences out of scrambled words, make words out of a long Armenian word, have a fashion show (wearing clothes of the opposite sex), and make a salad. The fashion show was funny. Some of the boys had wigs on, heels, make-up, and earrings. They must have practiced walking in the heels because they did very well. The school director and two other teachers were the judges and a lot of the parents came to watch. I think this is one of the advantages of being in a small school. They can put on shows like this have most of the students participate.
The weather here has been constantly changing. Last week we had snow and cold weather. Over the weekend it was like Spring, with temperatures in the high 60s. In fact over the weekend, I really didn’t need to light my wood-burning stove. However, today it got cooler again and it feels like we might get more snow. I know I can’t complain, especially after reading about all the snow that some of you got this winter. However, your heating systems are a bit better than mine and so is the insulation in your houses, especially since there is no such thing as insulation here. But I know that the cold weather will soon be over and I made it through my first winter here. Things can only get better.out when I take a shower.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Last week we were at a “ski resort” learning how to write grants. They have a certain grant here that is only available through Peace Corps and needs a PCV in order to apply for it. Since I have never written a grant, I learnt a lot. We went up on Monday and the conference lasted until Friday morning. They broke us up into 7 groups, each group being led by a PCV and an interpreter for our counterparts. They were very long days, especially since I’m not used to sitting inside from 9to 5:30 every day. And I’m no sure I will ever write a grant while I’m here.
This resort is very nice and we were able to walk around the town at night. The last night we were there it snowed, and we found out the next morning it snowed in almost all of Armenia. Luckily I had planned on staying in the capital city of Yerevan for the weekend because the one road going south was closed. It did open on Saturday so people were able to get home then.
Unfortunately, two more of the group I trained with decided to go home. We all were, however, able to say goodbye to them in person. Victoria was in PC office on Monday when we arrived there, and Beth was there on Friday. I will miss them both, especially Beth who I had gotten to know a bit better than Victoria. They both gave the PC a good shot, 6 months at their sites, and realized that this was not for them. I admire them for at least trying it and being honest enough with themselves to make the decision to go home.
When I arrived home on Sunday, I found out that I didn’t have any water. My pipes froze, even though I had left the kitchen faucet running. So for the past two days, I have been melting ice on my wood-burning stove and then running it through my water filter. It’s a slow process, but at least there was the snow to melt so I wasn’t left completely without water. This is what I would call my first Peace Corps experience. Between my small school, wood-burning stove, and no water I keep thinking of the settlers in America who braved the frontier to help establish our country. I don’t know how they did it. I at least know that this is for a short period of time, and I keep reminding myself of that when things go wrong, or don’t go as I planned.
So I’m sitting here waiting for the snow to melt and for the water to get warm on my wood-burning stove so I can use it to wash out my clothes, by hand. Then I will put them on my drying rack in front of the stove to dry. Yet I’m also listening to music on my laptop. Talk about a mix of cultures!
It’s fairly easy here to be on a diet. Their normal plate size is our salad plate, so the portions are definitely smaller. And even if you back for seconds, it’s really only like our normal first portion. Of course during the winter no one looks like they’ve lost weight. We all wear multiple layers to keep warm. While I tend to stick with just 3 layers, some of the other volunteers wear up to 6 or 7 layers. They’ll really look like they lost weight come the spring!
Monday, February 22, 2010
The past two weeks seem to have just flown by. Having English club twice a week keeps me busy during the week and on the weekends it’s playing catch up with the housework. Two weekends ago I was snowed in up in my village. It had snowed during the week and then everything froze. The marshutnies were not coming up to the village and the taxis were only going half way up. Unfortunately it was another PC’s birthday, so I missed the celebrations. But it was nice for a change to just stay in my house, look out at the frozen landscape and keep warm by my stove. I got a lot of crocheting done and finished a book. I was also able to get a bit ahead with my lesson planning for my clubs and classes.
This past weekend I was once again up in Yerevan for a meeting for the volunteer initiative committee. There were a lot of other PC meetings going on as well so I got to see quite a few of the other volunteers, which is always nice. The down side is that the hostel was full and they were repairing the two upstairs bathrooms, so everyone had to use the downstairs one. I wound up taking my shower at midnight Saturday! The weather was incredibly warm, so it was nice to just walk around the city at night. Instead of going up on Saturday morning, Shannon and I went up Friday, so it was a bit more relaxing, and we came back down Sunday. The school faculty, especially my counterpart, are always happy to see me after my days off. I think they are afraid I’ll not come back one of these times.
Today I found out that my pen pal club received its first packet of letters from the Ukraine. Shannon picked up the package for me and I’ll get it this weekend. My students are still working on their first letters, but I hope to mail them on Saturday. It’s been a slow process getting this project off the ground, so I’m glad something has come of it. I only hope the students keep up their interest. I’m anxious to see how this goes.
The Armenian men take very good care of their cars. With the warm weather they are all out there washing their cars and trucks. On the drive up to my village we pass the local “car wash.” Actually there are two: one is a manmade lake they drive up to and bucket wash their cars. The other is a spring that runs down the side of the mountain and pools next to the road. They park next to it and use the water to wash their car.
Speaking of water, after my pipes unfroze I still could not use my shower. The water wasn’t going through the heater. Yesterday I finally saw the electrician (that’s what they call the plumber here) and asked him to look at it. After about a half hour, he discovered that the hose to the shower head was clogged, with dirt from the water. That’s how dirty the water is here and why we use a water filter for our drinking water. I’ll probably have to clear it out about every other month or so. I just won’t think about when I take a shower.

Thursday, January 28, 2010
Today is Army Day in Armenia, a national holiday. However, they were having some activities at the local army base, so the schools were taking the boys to see that. It’s a way to get interest in the army as a career. There is mandatory two year army service for all boys once they turn 18. But it seems that less and less are making the army a career.
Well winter seems to have finally arrived in southern Armenia. This week has been cold and snowy. On Tuesday we had snow all morning, but then it rained for a while. However, it turned to snow agaityping this I’m sitting in my house with a hat on to help keep me warm. I haven’t lit my wood burning stove yet today and am relying on my fan for heat. My wood supply has run low and I’m not sure when I’ll be getting more. I haven’t seen my wood man in a few days, so I don’t want to take any chances of running out. I just bring the fan with me as I move from room to room. I’ll light my stove tonight. Since I didn’t make arrangements for the wood until the middle of November, I’m not sure how much I’ll actually get this winter. Rest assured that I will make arrangements for wood for next winter in plenty of time. I’ll also try to get a meter and a half for each month. I am a spoiled American used to a good heating system and it’s hard to get used to a chilly house. And I refuse to wear my coat in my house, the hat is one thing, but I draw the line at the coat. Besides this, my geyser, hot water heater, isn’t working either. It seems that in the cold the water pressure decreases and there isn’t enough pressure for the geyser to work. Oh well, I’m used to bucket baths anyway.
At school we have been having extra classes every day. Not only do we have to make up for the 3 weeks we missed in December, but my counterpart and I will be out all next week. We will be going to a conference on grant writing. Luckily the school is small and it’s fairly easy to change the schedule and make up the classes. In fact, it’s rare that the schedule isn’t changed at least once a week. With the snow on Wednesday, I had to go in early Thursday morning because the teachers who live down in the town (11 out of 14) were having a problem getting up the mountain. The buses weren’t running and they couldn’t find a taxi either. This also meant that some of our students couldn’t get to school. The teachers were finally able to get a ride most of the way up the mountain and classes were juggled to accommodate all. Flexibility is a needed asset here.
Our computer teacher is out on mandatory maternity leave since Dec. 1. We finally hired a part time replacement, who works Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This means that since she is trying to make up for the whole month of Dec., the three days she’s in the computers are never free. So my access to the internet is severely limited. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is generally at least one class using the computer/faculty room for a class. So for the next 2 months I will be lucky to get online once a week, unless I go to town on Saturdays and use the computers down there.
I finally started some clubs after school. I have one on Tuesday afternoons in which we are part of a pen pal program with other former Soviet Union countries that also have Peace Corps volunteers. Eleven of the students showed up for our first meeting and I think most of them will stick with it. We will be writing to students in Romania, Macedonia, and the Ukraine. There is also a project as part of this. Each group will put together a packet of information about their village/town and share it with the others. It’ll be a great learning experience for the students.
On Thursday afternoons I have a tutorial club for the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders. It’s kind of a wide range of students, but they all expressed an interest so I’ll see how it works. Yesterday I gave them a placement test of sorts to help me see what they’re having trouble with. I plan to use a lot of different approaches, including games, in order to keep their interest and make it enjoyable for them. Since I am doing these clubs by myself, I’m hoping that my Armenian will improve. I told the students that I will help them with their English and they need to help me with my Armenian. We’ll see how this works.
Thanks to some very generous family members I have started a library of sorts in our English room. I have received a lot of pre-readers and readers, as well as some picture dictionaries on various subjects. When we started back after the holidays, I decided that the upper grades would start journaling and the 4th and 5th graders would start reading at the beginning of each class. Both ideas have been very well received by the students, especially the reading. Most of the books, both school and reading, in Armenia are primarily text, with little or no pictures, and very small print. Once they saw the illustrations and size of the print in these new books, they were excited to read them. We give them at least 5 minutes at the beginning of class and sometimes we extend it because they are so engaged in their books. At the end of the club on Tuesday I mentioned to those students that they could also take the books. It’s like I’m giving them money or candy, they can’t have enough of it. Each of the older students took a book. I just told them that they had to return the book when their done with it.
The journaling is also going quite well. It was hard at first for them to just write, even though we supplied them with a topic. They’re just not used to thinking in English. But after a few classes, they are doing very well. I told them their journals will not be graded, but I will look at them every now and then to see how they’re doing and correct mistakes. Some of the students are so serious about it that they go home and continue writing. Of course some of the other teachers are complaining that all the students want to do is their English homework.
Friday, January 29, 2010
I had to get a new gas bubble for my stove. Somehow I broke the on/off nozzle, luckily in the on position so I could at least heat up the kettle in the morning for my tea/coffee. However, I was a little worried that some gas might be leaking. So someone from Peace Corps drove down to Vachagan today and switched the gas bubbles.
I also went to visit my wood man this afternoon and explained that I needed more wood. I also asked if he could deliver more at one time. I think he understood, I’ll soon find out. Just as I was leaving, his wife came out and invited me in for a cup of tea. She also admired my Yaktrax and asked if I had gotten them in Armenia. I explained, as best I could, that the Peace Corps handed them out to all the volunteers. They’ve really come in handy this week. I know that by visiting people I will have to speak Armenian more, so it’s good for me to do this. And I do enjoy getting to know my neighbors.

December 27, 2009
Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all had a very blessed and joyful Christmas. While I wasn’t with my family, I thought of you all often throughout the day. Spending Christmas in a different culture has been very interesting. But first let me catch you up on what’s been going on here since I last wrote.
There was a lot of sickness, seasonal flu they called it, in November and early December. There were some reported cases of the H1N1 flu, mostly in the capital city. So, on Dec. 7th, the Minister of Education announced that all schools would be closed for 10 days, reopening Dec. 21. This meant that I basically had 10 days off. While it was nice to have some unexpected time off, that isn’t exactly why I joined the Peace Corps. However, I decided to use the time as best I could to plan for the next half year. I had found that not knowing the curriculum and not having had a chance to look at all the books being used was getting harder the more we got into the school year. So, I’ve been going through the books used in each form (grade), picking out the grammar being introduced and making up exercises and activities for it.
I’ve also had lots of time for crocheting. I am so thankful that I know how to crochet, for it has been a real time filler for me. So far I have made 6 afghans, a scarf, hat and a placemat. Four of the afghans were for other PCVs who had bought the yarn and I just supplied the labor. I have one more afghan to make for another PCV and then I’ll move onto something else. Luckily there are quite a few yarn stores in the town near me, and a great one in the capital city that I go into whenever I’m up there. I might even try to learn how to knit, since that’s more popular among volunteers so I’ll have access to more patterns.
Each day I tried to take a walk, sometimes down to the town, other days just around the village. The people in the village have gotten used to seeing me walking around. They don’t walk just for the sake of exercise, but in order to go some where. At first they couldn’t understand why I was just out walking, but now they just accept that that’s what I like to do. Besides good exercise, it’s a good way to meet some of the villagers.
One of the other PCVs, Shannon, moved into a new apartment last weekend, so we helped her move her stuff. It’s very interesting seeing the looks on people’s faces as we walked from one place to the other with all her stuff. We only had to make two trips, which was good because she moved into an apartment on the 5th floor, with no elevator.
I found out on Sat., Dec. 19, that the schools were not reopening until Jan. 11th, so I will have had 5 full weeks off. I was disappointed that schools were not reopening, since I came here to help in the schools, but I realize that for health reasons it’s better to keep them closed. So I have decided to take a road trip next week, with Shannon, to visit some of the other volunteers in the northern part of this country.
I used this past week to get ready for Christmas dinner and my overnight guests and to relax a little. It was strange not having any last minute Christmas shopping to do, or any crowds to hassle with. In Armenia they celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6th, but their really big celebration is on New Year’s Eve/Day. That is when they exchange presents and gather at people’s houses, and have fireworks. So their last minute shopping is happening now. They are also just putting up their decorations, when I know in the States some are already taking down their decorations.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day turned out really nice. 25 of us gathered at Barbara’s apartment for Christmas Eve dinner and then they all came up to my house for Christmas dinner. For most of the younger volunteers this was their first Christmas without any family, so it was good for them to be with the rest of us. I had 4 stay at my house and we sang Christmas carols Friday morning while we got everything ready. We had a grab bag so everyone got a gift and they could exchange among themselves if they wanted. Not too many did. While we didn’t have a lot of Christmas decorations, we did have some. Thanks to Jackie and Brendan, I had a stocking and a small Christmas tree, to which we added a reindeer. Actually the reindeer had started out as a paper maiche spider for Halloween, then was transformed into a turkey for Thanksgiving, and now is a reindeer. A little imagination and good old US ingenuity go a long way here.
In some ways for me it was like being with my family. Most of the younger volunteers are the ages of my own children and some of them even call me Mom. I enjoy being with them, as I enjoy being with my own children. Having them here definitely made it easier on me not to be with my family. The one thing I really missed, besides my family, was being able to go to Church. There are no Catholic Churches in Armenia, at least in the part where I am. So I have decided that next Christmas I will visit Georgia or someplace where I know there are Catholic Churches.
As New Year approaches my wish for all of you is peace and happiness.
January 3, 2009
Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year’s celebration.
I’ve been on a road trip since last Monday, when Shannon and I left to head north. We had a meeting at PC Headquarters on Tuesday, Dec. 29 about volunteerism in Armenia. This initiative is new here and one that PC would very much like to see take hold. I’m on the planning committee for that and we hope to have some definite ideas and activities in place by April. The area I’m specifically involved in is camps for young people (ages 11 – 16) and Forums for young adults (18 – 25). It will be pretty intense for the next few months, but hopefully we will be successful. I’ll keep you posted. By being involved on the planning committee it will mean that I’ll be making regular trips to Yerevan.
In Yerevan I’ve been staying at a hostel, my first venture into hostels. This one is actually quite nice and very clean. They have a wonderful shower and computers that are online. And we get a breakfast each day. By staying in the hostel, I save about 1500 drams each night.
Tuesday afternoon after the meeting, we headed to Gyumri for a few days. We arranged to stay with another PCV, Staci, who we really just met when she came to my house for Christmas. Gyumri is a large city in the northwest part of Armenia. There was a major earthquake there in 1988, and some of the rumble is still visible. The earthquake destroyed a majority of the buildings in Gyumri and they put the displaced families in “temporary” housing – old railroad cars. They scattered these around the city, wherever they could find a flat, clean spot. There are still about 7,000 families living in this housing around the city. We walked around Gyumri quite a bit and it’s astonishing to see these “homes” right next to newer housing. In one of the city’s squares, there are 2 big churches, one of which was destroyed in the earthquake. The other was saved by the fact that it’s spires were built so as to absorb the shock and shoot off onto the ground. It’s amazing to see the remains of such destruction. Barbara, one of the PCVs stationed in Gyumri only since August, has done an incredible amount of research on the city and was very helpful on our walks. There is also somewhat of a walking tour, with explanations of the buildings and their history throughout the city. I hope to go back to Gyumri in the summer.
There is a wonderful fish restaurant in Gyumri where we ate Tuesday night. It’s called “The Fish House,” at least by the PCVs. It is attached to a fish hatchery and right on a river. The fish was delicious, as was the rest of the meal. There were 10 of us at dinner and we had a good time. On New Year’s Eve, we all, 14 of us, met at Amanda’s for dinner. She made a wonderful Greek chicken meal. Some of us, myself included, didn’t make it til midnight. But we were all together again the next day for dinner, which Staci and Barbara had made – ham, potatoes au gratin, garlic bread. It was nice to celebrate with the other PCVs. New Year’s is very big here, with most of the stores were closed and some will not open until tomorrow or even next week.
Saturday, Shannon and I left Gyumri and headed to Karashamb, the village I lived in during the summer, to visit my old host family. Of course the road network in Armenia is almost non-existent, so we had to come all the way back to Yerevan and then head to Karashamb. We wound up taking a taxi, because the marshutneys were all too crowded. We must have gotten the only taxi driver who didn’t know where Karashamb is. As it turned out, we met some of my family in a town before Karashamb, at a cousin’s house. One of the customs here surrounding New Year’s is that you visit your relatives and eat at each house. Each house has a table full of food: fresh ham, 3 or 4 vegetable salads, bread, small egg roll like things, nuts, pastry, fruit, and of course wine, vodka, and cognac. We wound up going to 3 houses and by that time I was stuffed. I was so glad we went, because it meant so much to that family. Some of the extended family had come to see me, and others called while we were there. They wanted us to stay the night, but I knew we would be putting someone out of their bed, so we declined. I will definitely go back to visit them this summer.
We got back to Yerevan and the hostel about 7:30 last night. It was nice to see all the lights and decorations in the city. These will stay up until sometime after Jan. 6th, their Christmas. Today as we walked around the city, we saw that most of the stores and even the restaurants are closed. Most will reopen tomorrow, but some take the whole week off. Tomorrow we head back to Kapan, to our own houses. It’s been nice to visit different areas and people, but it’ll be nice to be home again. Hopefully schools will reopen on Jan. 11th and I’ll get back to work.
January 8, 2010
Our trip back to Kapan was a bit nerve-wracking since they had had snow in some of the areas we had to drive through. The road in some places was icy and snowcovered. We passed one snow plow and a sander. Actually the sander consisted of 2 men in the back of a truck throwing shovels full of sand alternately on the road. But it worked and we made it safely back. I was glad to see that there wasn’t any snow on the 2 mountain roads just outside of Kapan, since they are a series of switch backs, which I’m not too sure I want to do on ice and snow.
This has been a very relaxing week, especially since a lot of the other PCVs are still away and a lot of the stores are closed. I spent most of the week either reading, crocheting, or doing jigsaw puzzles. We had snow most of Tuesday so it was a good day to stay inside. However, it has almost all melted since the weather got warmer again. This has been an unseasonably mild winter.
I’ve also had time to do some cooking, which is another adventure here. While their diet is not that spicy or that unlike our own, there are certain spices that they don’t have here, so I’ve had to improvise with some recipes. I did make applesauce the other day, which was really good with the French toast I made this morning. They don’t have syrup here, so I substituted the applesauce for it. They also don’t have tomato sauce or marinara sauce, but have tomato paste. So when I could still find fresh tomatoes and green peppers, I would add those to the paste, sometimes with carrots, and make a marinara sauce. However, I can no longer find either, so I’ll have to find another way to doctor up the tomato paste.
I spent most of today outdoors, since it was so nice out. This morning I broke apart one of the trees that my neighbor had taken down and laid outside my basement door. I’ll use the small pieces for kindling to start my wood stove. This afternoon I went for a hike and again foraged for kindling. It’s amazing the amount of wood that I use without even having it get too hot. My supply of fire wood had gotten pretty low, which has made me realize the value of forests and the value of rationing what I do have. And I’ve found that using different size kindling helps to start the fire. I am learning so much about fires and wood stoves! But it was a nice day and it was a good excuse to be outside. I’ll probably look for some more tomorrow, especially if it’s nice out again.
I have also realized these past few weeks that I had gotten used to being able to check my email on an almost daily basis. However not being in school and with most of the businesses closed in Kapan, I haven’t been online in over a week. It made me think of the Peace Corps volunteers who served before the advent of email and cell phones. My admiration for what they must have experienced, the loneliness and sense of isolation from family and friends, has grown considerably. When I came to Armenia in June, I didn’t expect to have such regular access to an online computer, but I quickly became spoiled and used to it. Some things we just take for granted as part of everyday life, when in reality they are anything but in a large part of the world.